Dakar Second Pan-African Film Festival to Rally Efforts for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

DAKAR, Senegal — The second Pan-African film festival, intended to raise awareness of the various forms of violence committed against women in Africa, will open here on 26 November. Sponsored by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, the Government of Senegal, donors, non-governmental organizations and other partners, the festival is held on the occasion of the “International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women,” 25 November.

Filmmakers from the African continent are invited to submit their films and documentaries for the festival. All entries must be received by the UNFPA Country Office in Senegal no later than 17 October 2008.

Violence against women, considered for a long time to be a family or private matter, is now perceived as a public health issue, an obstacle to development and an unacceptable violation of human rights. One in every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in some other way – most often by someone she knows, including her husband or another male family member. One woman in four has been abused during pregnancy.

In Africa, violence against women is widespread, aggravated by conflicts that have ravaged or are still ravaging many countries of the continent. However, the phenomenon remains widely unrecognized, denied, or stifled within the communities and by decision makers, despite the increasing rallying calls for its elimination.

The Pan-African Film Festival of Dakar will offer filmmakers an exceptional opportunity to publicize their films that address this phenomenon. It will also increase the awareness of policy makers, and the public at large, of this kind of violence.

A jury will judge all entries based on their ability to engage the general public and decision makers in order to eliminate the phenomenon and end the stigma of victims. The selected films will be screened in Dakar and other regions of Senegal. The top-ranked films addressing violence against women will be awarded monetary prizes and a trophy.

Filmmaker should address two DVD copies of their film, one original version and one international version, to: Madame Suzanne Konaté Maïga, UNFPA, 19 Rue Parchappe, Immeuble Fayçal, 3ème étage, BP 154, Dakar (Sénégal). If the film is not in French or in English, please send the DVDs with the dialogue list in French or in English.

Eighty-four films from 18 African countries were submitted to the first Pan-African Film Festival of Dakar, which was held in November 2006. The 10 selected films were translated into local languages and screened in some of Dakar’s most populous neighbourhoods and other parts of Senegal. Tawanda Gunda-Mupengo, a filmmaker from Zimbabwe, was awarded the first prize for his film “Peretera Maneta : Spell my Name”, a moving story of a young student sexually abused by the school’s headmaster.

Films already submitted for the 2006 Pan-African Film Festival of Dakar or for the 2007 National Film Festival of Dakar should not be submitted again.

Contact Information:
Fatimata Kane
Tel.: +221-33 839 99 90
Cell Phone: +221-77 576 99 20
Email: fakane@unfpa.org

Edwige Adekambi
Tel.: + 221-33 839 90 62
Cell Phone: + 221-77 529 72 03
Email: adekambi@unfpa.org

Hugues Koné
Tel.: +221-33 889 03 49
Cell Phone: +221-77 502 18 04
Email: kone@unfpa.org